Jacksonville Jaguars: Free Agency Grades and Analysis

Whew! My head is still spinning from the whirlwind that week one of NFL free agency brought on. After all the dust had settled, one team that was generating quite a buzz was the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars are young team on the up-and-up and owner Shad Khan seems willing to do whatever it takes to turn that team into a perennial winner.

Let’s take a look at how free agency has shaped up for them so far:

The acquisitions

Julius Thomas

In Julius Thomas the Jaguars get what they need more than anything else—a legitimate red zone threat. In 2014, quarterback Blake Bortles completed just 34 percent of his red zone targets while targeting tight ends only four times.

Enter Thomas.

Thomas was a red zone stud converting 13 of 15 targets and turning them into nine touchdowns. Thomas gives the Jaguars a legitimate target who could easily turn in 15 touchdowns in 2015.

Davon House

The addition of House gives the Jaguars a bolster to a secondary that graded amongst the league’s worst in 2014. House allowed only 46 percent of his targets to be completed, and is also a willing tackler. Overall, this is a perfect fit for Gus Bradley who likes aggressive players who are fiery competitors.

Jeremy Parnell

Parnell is a mauler of a right tackle who, despite being 29, has minimal wear on his tires. Anyone who watched the Jaguars knows that the right tackle position is a major concern. Parnell and Brandon Linder should pair together to become a dynamic duo of run-blockers. Somewhere, Denard Robinson is smiling.

Dan Skuta

It’s hard to know what you’re getting with Skuta, but Gus Bradley and Dave Caldwell liked him enough to let JT Thomas go. Thomas was a viable linebacker, but Skuta is a little more consistent.

Skuta fits as the OTTO linebacker in Jacksonville’s defense. He’s an adept pass rusher who doesn’t miss a lot of tackles. I really like his aggressiveness and willingness to attack the ball carrier.

Overall, Skuta is more of a stopgap or rotational player who could put out some big performances for the Jags, but I wouldn’t count on him to become an All-Pro.

Sergio Brown

There’s no doubt that the Jaguars needed an upgrade at safety, especially after watching Josh Evans flail around a confused high school student. I mean seriously, his tape could be used for torture. That being said, Sergio Brown isn’t quite the upgrade I was looking for.

Brown didn’t have a terrible year in 2014 but he certainly didn’t have one that made me feel like he’s the key to fixing the Jaguars defense.

Truth be told, I see Brown as more of a special teams ace that could rotate in from time to time. I expect the Jaguars to try and upgrade this position further through the Draft.

The Grade

The Jaguars likely aren’t done yet, but they’ve already done a great job upgrading the team. Probably most encouraging was General Manager Dave Caldwell’s discipline in terms of cap.

It would have been easy for Caldwell to throw droves of money at free agents, but instead he was calculated with the moves and maintained a respectable budget moving forward.

Grade: B+

The Future

The Jaguars still have plenty of work to do. First, addressing the running back position. The team missed out on Demarco Murray and would be foolish to go into the season with Toby Gerhart being the bell cow. Other positions of need include center, free safety, middle linebacker and defensive line.

Top Draft Prospects

First Round: Leonard Williams, DE, USC; Dante Fowler, DE, UF; Amari Cooper, WR, Bama; Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska.

Second Round: Todd Gurley, RB, UGA; Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami; Cameron Erving, C/G/T, FSU.